Has anybody tried this food called Orijen?

[Prin]

Jesse's mommy, it is generally a good review site, but they STRONGLY lean toward the grain free foods. IMO, anything 4 stars and above is pretty good and three and below is garbage.

Tully, salmon oil is great, but "fish oil" and "salmon oil" are two different things. You want any ingredient in your dog food to be specific. Even the rice in the Sensi-bites isn't specific. What kind of rice is it?

Check out these foods:
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/allergy/home.html

[Ginnys]

Jesse's Mommy, you must not have paged through all brands listed under each category. Merrick is listed under the 5 star canned foods.

[Prin]

They make a dry too, and I think the dry is either 5 or 4 star.. The only foods who get the 6 stars are the high protein ones... (IMO, they're not necessarily better yet...)

[tully]

I am not sure of all the ingredients in Regal because I don't have the bag in front of me and we are switching foods due to Rory's seizures. I think that my combination worked for my dog wonderfully for the time we used it. I cook for my dogs often with the regimen I mentioned earlier and Rory has done beautifully.
I worked in a holistic dog food store for several months. I know all the brands, thier ratings etc. I am extremely educated in the area of nutrition for both dogs and people. I worked with a woman who was a fanatic and that just isn't my style. I will always use holistic but less is more to me. This again is the reason I chose Regal for my dog Rory and his issues. My pup Tully is on Innova because he does not have the issues I am addressing with Rory. I am an educated consumer so my choice was not out of ignorance. One of the problems I had with the higher rated brands, is they have TOO many ingredients! If your eliminating foods for you dog, because they have health issues less is more! Now, luckily some of these manufacturers are creating new dog foods without the grains and less ingredients.
I agree that salmon oil is the way to go and don't think I ever said to use fish oil. I think one size does not fit all and one needs to work with their animal and their specific needs. I get from some of these responses people don't like Regal and that is fine. However, it worked wonders for us and I liked it. Tully

[Prin]

I agree that salmon oil is the way to go and don't think I ever said to use fish oil.

No you didn't but fish oil is in your food.

Yes, a lot of foods are complicated (like Nature's Variety), but Evo, EvoRM, and DVP Natural balance (among many others) are simpler foods and worth taking a look at if what you want is a simpler food.

[tully]

I am trying Orijen out of Canada. Your kneck of the woods Prin. Hve you tried it? There are only a few dealers so far in America for this brand. They are located in Florida so I ordered it off line. My store here is going to start ordering it. It got really good reviews. My holistic vet is very excited about it. I was thinking of Evo but Rory is a Lab prone to the chunky side. Due to the high fat content, I am leaning toward this instead.

[Prin]

I haven't tried it. One of my doggies can't eat poultry at all.

[Gazoo]

Our 2 cats and 2 dogs have all been on Orijen for about 4 months or so now. They all seem to be doing quite well -- happy and healthy!!!!

[kaidsmom]

Originally Posted by Ginnys

Check out http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
Orijen is rated as a 6-star food, but does come with some cautions. Read the review associated with food you are thinking of feeding.

Hello, everyone.
I am just new to this forum but I have been following the discussion about Orijen as I was considering it for my dogs. After reading the reviews I decided to find out whether this food is Ethoxyquin free so I wrote to the company. I reveived a response from them this morning. This is the email I received:

Hello Paula - and thanks for your inquiry - I confirm that ingredients in ORIJEN are free of Ethoxyquin. We have just created a FAQ section on our website and will add an Ethoxyquin-free statement early next week (lots of people ask about this! On our next packaging print, we'll add an "Ethoxyquin Free Statement to the bags too).

Kind Regards,
Peter
www.championpetfoods.com

This morning I gave my Malamute a choice of which new food she would like to go with and she chose Orijen. So now I can use up the little sample and go for the big bag.
I hope this information is helpful.

[Prin]

Thanks for posting that. It's definitely good to know.

[rainbow]

Kaidsmom, how many pounds are in the large bag and what does it cost?

[kaidsmom]

I'm not sure just now what it costs but I'll find out tomorrow and post it.
I liked the advice given on that link to dog food reviews - feed a variety and change foods about every 3 months. I always feed raw at night but I use the highest quality kibble I can find in the mornings. I'm going to start looking into what is available in canned food as well.
I like the dehydrated food, but two out of three of my guys won't eat it. I've tried several different types of dehydrated. My Malamute loves it but the Sammies won't touch it.
I sure like the content of the Orijen senior so I'll have to let my two Sammie boys try it out and see if it's acceptable to them.

[Scott_B]

Have you thought about switching completly to raw since your already feeding it?

[kaidsmom]

The largest size of Orijen at my local store is approx 30lbs and it's $55.95.
Hi, Scott
We used to feed entirely raw and I really support the use of raw as the best possible diet. That being said, I'm not sure why exactly I moved to using a kibble for their morning snack. Convenience maybe. Fatigue on my part maybe. Part of the difficulty is that I will not give my dogs a hunk of raw anything with sharp little bones in it, for example a quarter of a chicken; and I won't give them turkey necks because I know of cases where they became lodged in the dog's throat. I will give them raw meaty beef marrow bones on occassion, but broken teeth are darned expensive to fix. So I feed the dogs already ground up raw food we can purchase frozen. Then I add stuff to it: lecithin, kelp, bee pollen, hemp heart, Omega 3-6-9 capsules, the Missing Link and for my old guy with the sore back legs I add some BIS; also I add a mixture of veggie chunks (mostly for teeth cleaning and the pleasure of chomping) like yam, turnip, carrot, brussel sprouts, cucumber, zucchini, romanine lettuce, etc. Some days I'll add green tripe or cooked liver or beef heart or chicken giblets. I don't mind preparing the evening menu, but I think I got sort of stymied with breakfasts.
That's basically why I've been using alternatives at breakfast.

[rainbow]

Kaidsmom, thanks for the info. I'm feeding Innova right now and paying $56.99 for a 33lb. bag. Although I am happy with it, I would much rather feed a Canadian product. I'm going to see if our local pet store can get it in. Thanks again.

[kaidsmom]

Dear Scott
Thank you so much for asking me that simple question - why don't I feed raw entirely. As I was composing my answer to you, which you might have already read, I had to ask myself that same questions and try to put aside the excuses. Then, last night, as I was preparing food for the kids, I asked my partner the same question "Why did I stop feeding raw at breakfast?"
I think it started when our newest puppy - the Malamute - was not too pleased with raw and wouldn't eat it. But now she's fine with it as long as it's not a hunk of something raw.
So, thanks to your question and getting the rusty wheels in my brain finally turning, we're back to raw entirely. No more kibble.
Just wanted to let you know that I appreciated your comment because it got me thinking and then acting.
Kaidsmom

[Scott_B]

gee, glad I could help

[klytamnestra]

I just started one of my dogs on Orijen, will rotate it in with Evo and TWO Wild & Natural. It does look like a lovely food, particularly once I learned that their fish supply is fresh, with no ethoxyquin used anywhere along the line. There is some debate on another forum about high iodine levels. Clark @ Champion Pet Foods is discussing this with their dietician. There is also some discussion about long-term use of botanical formulas. For these reasons, I don't think I would feed Orijen exclusively, but it will make another good grain-free formula to rotate for my Houston.

[SuperWanda]

Hi tully - sorry I didn't catch your post and thanks for your advice.

I'm really not sure what my dog is allergic to but I actually stuck with the Orijen and have been feeding it for awhile now. My dogs love it. I wondered if it could be the grains that bothered her. I wanted to give it a good try into the winter so I could determine whether it was a seasonal allergy problem more than a food based one. She still licks at one of her feet but that is better than all 4 being red and sore. She could also have a dust allergy I guess but I've never had her tested.

Right now I am happy with this choice. They still seem to love this food and I am happy with the ingredients and the way their coats look.

The price went up since I first started buying it. I think I pay $62 now for a 29.7lb bag.

[chase de bull]

Originally Posted by rainbow

The lady at the pet store told me that Champion Pet Foods was coming out with a new product. I had been communicating with Peter there about removing the menadione from their Acana dog food. The last I heard from him he said they would look into it.

I checked the website and it's still in the Acana but noticed the Orijen food doesn't contain it. Well, that's a step in the right direction and it looks like a really good food.

Good news. I email peter and he said Acana products are menadione free